What Would Be The Dealer's Cost Of Pelikan M800 Fountain Pen?

[kroywen1982]

I recently purchased a Pelikan M800 in Black, with EF nib. Brand new, not NOS, with complete box, outer box, and paper, for just under $200. The pen has no defect what so ever. And I am using it everyday. That put a curious thought in my head regarding big national stores are still selling them at $500 the least to about $800 the top.

 

Does anyone know about how much Pelikan selling to it's dealers around the world?

 

 

[Mastiff]

!

 

Why just Pelikan??

I think it will vary depending on the country and I don't think such 'trade secret' will be easily leaked!

 

BTW what about rolex, what about dom perignon?

 

PS $200 is a bargain! I am happy for you!

[daenghafez]

 

PS $200 is a bargain! I am happy for you!

Agree. That's a real bargain!

[kroywen1982]

Thank you guys for all your replies ! Next time I will talk about how I got new Pelikan M1000 for $330.

[invisuu]

I once saw a pen shop for sale with reported sales of x and a half of that was reported as pure profit. If you take away the expenses of the shop, salaries of employees, etc. I'd say the retailers' price should be around 25% of the store price. Furthermore, a manufacturer I will not expose once said that the majority of sales price goes to retailers. I'd say anywhere between 20-30% of the sale price is manufacturers' price. This is educated speculation based on some evidence I've seen from various manufacturers and vendors.

 

Naturally, noone will ever give you the exact number, but it's safe to say there's a big margin in it for the vendors, which makes sense since they need to invest a lot up front in fountain pen world to have a stock even remotely worth mentioning.

[Lam1]

I recently purchased a Pelikan M800 in Black, with EF nib. Brand new, not NOS, with complete box, outer box, and paper, for just under $200. The pen has no defect what so ever. And I am using it everyday. That put a curious thought in my head regarding big national stores are still selling them at $500 the least to about $800 the top.

 

Does anyone know about how much Pelikan selling to it's dealers around the world?

This can happen with any manufacturer, for many reasons.

Except for the very first few pens I ever bought, I rarely pay more than 50-60% of what most stores in the US ask for any of my pens, of any brand (including MB), always brand new and in box. Frequently, for most pens (MB excluded) I pay ~ 40%.

 

That being said, $200 for a M800 is a steal! Well done!

The best I've managed was $250 (shipped, special round box + a bottle of Edelstein) for a Black M805 last year.

Edited February 12, 2017 by Lam1

[Mastiff]

This can happen with any manufacturer, for many reasons.

Except for the very first few pens I ever bought, I rarely pay more than 50-60% of what most stores in the US ask for any of my pens, of any brand (including MB), always brand new and in box. Frequently I pay ~ 40%.

 

That being said, $200 for a M800 is a steal! Well done!

The best I've managed was $250 (shipped, special round box + a bottle of Edelstein) for a Black M805 last year.

For MB? ~40% of MRSP? How? New?

[GutSchrift]

I recently purchased a Pelikan M800 in Black, with EF nib. Brand new, not NOS, with complete box, outer box, and paper, for just under $200. The pen has no defect what so ever. And I am using it everyday. That put a curious thought in my head regarding big national stores are still selling them at $500 the least to about $800 the top.

 

Does anyone know about how much Pelikan selling to it's dealers around the world?

 

 

What?! Where?? That is quite the deal.

[qsnc]

i think pelikan pricing in the states is a bit cheeky. however, considering "normal" prices in europe, a m1000 can be had for around €400, depending on the version. i'd assume that - as with most goods - around 40% of the (normal) selling price goes to the retailer. considering the m800 is a more popular pen, the difference between the msrp and actual prices in the shops isn't as big as with the m1000, and they rarely do promotions on the m800.

 

if one is lucky and finds a promotion, prices can go down a whole lot for the m1000. i'd assume that retailers consider the reduction marketing costs and extending their customer base. god knows it worked when i got a brand new m1000 green/black for €280 on amazon germany. i would bet that amazon didn't really earn much at that price, so we could assume that's close to what they have to pay pelikan for one. adding 40% to that gets us roughly to €400, incidentally...

 

there was also a case of a german retail chain selling a m600 solid blue for €129. anyway, the m800 rarely goes down much, so i think you should consider yourself really lucky if you got it from an authorized retailer for 200 bucks.

Edited February 12, 2017 by qsnc

[Lam1]

For MB? ~40% of MRSP? How? New?

 

 

Sorry, I expressed myself poorly. What I meant (and will fix above) was "frequently, for most pens" and should add "MB excluded". Typically MBs can be had for about mid 60%. But if you are willing to wait for some well-known sales, you can have them in the lower 50's % (compared to US prices), from authorized dealers. Just as an example, during last thanksgiving & and new-years weekends a well-known retailer was sending out coupon codes that allowed one to get a 149 OBBB for $530 shipped (you could get the other nibs too, but I can only see that one in front of me ). Unfortunately, I had to pass in favor of a Dumas (bought elsewhere, with a boring M nib).

 

 

But I must say that I did have a bit of luck last year and got a 146 platinum with B nib at exactly 40% (I don't think it will ever happen again, though).

Edited February 12, 2017 by Lam1

[Barkingpig]

Many US dealers for pens adjust the MSRP for their offerings. I once had a dealer excoriate me for having purchased a pen from another dealer & not them; I explained his price was almost $200. less than theirs. She continued to rant, but this time about "his unseasonable practices of undercutting the guidelines their Distributor's MSRP. We HAVE to charge what they tell US! He is ALWAYS doing THIS!"

 

That was several years ago & I am happy to say both of them are still selling pens; obviously he remains able to purchase inventory from the same Distributors, "that TELL him what he MUST sell for," yet he DOESN'T & still receives merchandise to sell.

 

A good perusal of comparison shopping shows there are different standards of pricing among most US retailers; as is their right as owners, just as it is the customer's decision to purchase where they choose.

[max dog]

I recently purchased a Pelikan M800 in Black, with EF nib. Brand new, not NOS, with complete box, outer box, and paper, for just under $200. The pen has no defect what so ever. And I am using it everyday. That put a curious thought in my head regarding big national stores are still selling them at $500 the least to about $800 the top.

 

Does anyone know about how much Pelikan selling to it's dealers around the world?

 

 

Was it a legitimate source who sold ypu the pen? Not so sure how good it is for the industry to undercut all the infrastructure.

[kroywen1982]

What?! Where?? That is quite the deal.

eBay and the last day of the pen show before the closing hour.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

I have 2 points to this conversation.

 

1. I worked auto parts for several years. I started at a small store, local instead of big chain,and helped with purchase. Our standard markup was 38%.

 

2. Some companies require a contract to sell their items and will pull your contract if you sell for less than what they tell you your price point will be. I.E. Apple products.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I got the solid blue for E99....so don't know if the Galleria Kaufhaus, had them at 129 before or after the E99 sale.

The Blue 605 was made for export where it did not do well. That is why it ended up on Sale at Galleria Kaufhaus.

[Calabria]

I agree that "Pelikan pricing in the US is a bit cheeky."

 

For years I went along with it to support brick and mortar stores. When it occurred to me that my loyalty wasn't appreciated - and that buying locally severely limited my options - I joined the online crowd.

 

"If you can't lick 'em, join 'em."

[sargetalon]

This has been a question of mine for a while. The current price list for the US list the MSRP of an M800 at $760. Dealers in the US are allowed to discount 20% meaning that most will sell at a price point of $608. I have heard that a dealer pays around $400 for an M800 but cannot confirm that beyond a shadow of a doubt. It would make sense to me though if that were the case.

[fplover01]

I have heard that dealers buy at 40% of the MSRP. However this is all small talk and I have never seen proof.

[Mulrich]

I think the list price of an M800 is $760, 40% of which is $304. You can generally find a new M800 on eBay from a reputable dealer (missing-pen) for about $380. Figure about $35 in fees the seller would net around $40. That seems a little low to me but I haven't worked in retail since I was a teenager (and even then I never knew anything about margins) so maybe the return is reasonable. Nibs.com sells the M800 for $610, which after fees would probably net about $280 (they include nib set up which explains some of the higher price). A range of $40-280 net return for an M800 is probably about right, so 40% is probably pretty close.

 

It's also possible that higher volume sellers get a little better deal from Pelikan.